Colton's Secret Investigation

The Coltons of Roaring Springs #11

by Justine Davis

As she digs into her history

Her own future hangs in the balance

Deputy Daria Bloom is conducting a covert investigation into her past. At the same time, she and FBI agent Stefan Roberts are closing in on the deadly Avalanche Killer. When sparks fly between Daria and Stefan, their mutual attraction soon complicates their manhunt. With two cases to crack, Daria must find her own killer truths within.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2019

About the author

Author biographies are supposed to give you all those statistics, books written, awards won, etc. and I will, I promise...but first let me tell you about this ornery little tomboy (back then, the boys had all the fun...) who was always the one to make up the stories the neighborhood kids would "play". For those who came of age in the computer game era, this is something that was done usually in the backyard, by any number of summer-bored children, with props where appropriate. (Did you know a 55 gallon drum tied to a picnic bench makes a very cool horse?) It wasn't until much later that this tomboy realized two things: A) not everyone made up stories in their heads all the time, and B) in real life, the boys that had already had all the fun now seemed to always be winning.

But I digress. I was born on a farm down in Iowa....well, not quite, but close; Boone, Iowa is in the middle of farm country, but I arrived at a hospital. In a snow storm. Make that a blizzard. My sister tells me she knew my destiny when I was very young, because when I first saw the Disney classic Old Yeller, I was apparently so upset that I promptly went home and rewrote the story. In my version, the dog lived, of course. Should have been a clue.

Possibly in response to that blizzard I was born in, I've been a West Coaster since before I was a year old, and intend to stay that way. I have a history of staying. I started my first full time job right out of school (well, there was a very brief sojourn at a place where they made, among other things, burial vaults, but I prefer not to recall that one...) and stayed for twenty-one years. I've been married to the same wonderful guy for going on two decades now. We lived in our last house for seventeen years. (I won't even mention how many dumpsters we filled moving after that long....)

Readers seem as fascinated by my first career as they are with my writing. My time in law enforcement was many things, exciting, nerve wracking, and irritating, but most importantly never, ever boring. It was fascinating enough that I didn't think about writing seriously for several years. I kept a journal, and wrote long letters, collected quotes, mentally rewrote movies, and still made up those stories in my head, but never dreamed of actually writing for publication. I was having too much fun helping to catch bad guys, and being continually amazed at the situations people get themselves into. And eventually I walked away with a wealth of background and story ideas, and knowing some truly great people who work very hard to keep all of us safe. I'm proud to have been one of them, and I'm very aware that I have had the great good fortune of having had two jobs in my life that I love. Many people don't get even one.

But now that I'm in the delicious position of being able to make a living telling those stories in my head, I promise my readers two things: A) I'm staying--I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and B) in my stories, the girl--tomboy or not--always wins!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And now, the official stats:

Justine Dare Davis sold her first book in 1989, and followed that up with the sale of nineteen novels in less than two years. Her first four books were published in 1991, and she saw all reach the finals for either the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award or the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award. She has since won the RITA award four times, along with several Reviewer's Choice awards and three Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. At the 1998 national conference, Justine was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame, making her one of a very select group of just eight writers. She also had four titles on the Romantic Times "Top 200 of All Time" list. Her sales now total more than 45, and her books have appeared regularly on best seller lists, including the USA Today list. She has been featured in several local newspapers and nationwide by Associated Press, has appeared on CN

Reviews

[Eve Gaddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Colton's Secret Investigation. Justine Davis always captures my imagination. Stephan was a great hero. It was so touching to see him with his little boy, and how he wanted to do right by him even though he didn't have a clue how to deal with him. Daria was the perfect match for him. I loved how she helped Stephan with his son. The mystery/suspense was well-done, which is no surprise since Justine Davis writes great romantic suspense. I liked how well Daria and Stephan worked together.

[Paula Legate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Stephan just got custody of his son. It touched my heart to see the two bond. His partner Daria helped father and son get to know each other. It broke my heart to know that little Samuel knew he was at his dads because his mother didn’t want him anymore. Stephan and Daria made a good team. Daria an FBI agent always gets her man. In this book she got the bad guy, and feel in love with Stephan and his son. This book had good suspense, action and a really good story line. This book is a keeper.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Multicultural & Interracial Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Miniseries
The Coltons of Roaring Springs

[Stephanie Duerr · Rating 1 out of 5]

The audiobook is done by Apple Books AI team and you can tell because at times the narrator sounds very robotic

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the Coltons of Roaring Springs series, in which Sheriff's deputy Daria Bloom is part of the team investigating a series of murders. She is paired with FBI agent Stefan Roberts and when they begin to get close to identifying the Avalanche Killer, it is clear that they also are increasingly aware of their attraction to each other.

But will Stefan's little boy accept Daria, especially after his own mother has dumped him on the father he knows little about? And will Stefan ever figure out how to interact with the adorable boy, who has trust issues of his own? Oh, and will they catch the murderer before he kills again?

[Kathy Bryson · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun story deftly crafted to blend intriguing characters with suspenseful thriller. Love how subtle details of older woman, younger man, new father, struggling child, and race are revealed to create rich characters that draw you into the story. The story becomes a compelling look at two realistic people driven to solve a horrific crime.

[charmaine White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

This one is a really good read,suspense,thrills,mystery and a whole lot of action and laughter.Let's not forget that there's a really good romantic interest also.I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

[Nibrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and fun romance. A few fun twists to the story, but a straight up romance.